The Fight to Reclaim Pankisi

Georgia’s poverty-stricken northeast valley is struggling to dump its label as a nest of terrorists

At first sight, the valley of Pankisi seems unremarkable. A sleepy collection of houses winds along the pebbled riverbed of the Alazani river, one village after the other linking like pearls on a string.

Slender, veiled women chat beneath a mulberry tree. Cows stand in the middle of a narrow country lane. Men with beards roll by on bicycles.

The scene is peaceful and banal - a sharp contrast to the headlines this valley in the north east of Georgia inspires in the local and foreign press.